The election-year jobs agenda promised by President Barack Obama and Democrats has stalled seven months before voters determine control of Congress.

Democrats have no money to pay for the program. That”s because both Republicans and the Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee objected to taking money left over from the fund that bailed out banks, automakers and insurers and using it for the jobs bill.

Such a move, they insisted, would add tens of billions of dollars to the $12.8 trillion national debt.

An $80 billion-plus Senate plan promised an infusion of cash to build roads and schools, help local governments keep teachers on the payroll, and provide rebates for homeowners who make energy-saving investments. Two months after the plan was introduced, most of those main elements remain on the Senate”s shelf.

Obama”s proposed $250 bonus payment to Social Security recipients is dead for the year, having lost a Senate vote last month.

What”s going ahead instead are more modest initiatives. That includes some help for small business or simple extensions of parts from last year”s economic stimulus measure.

ALBANY, N.Y. Senator fights airline carry-on bag fee

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday he”s trying to get the federal government to prohibit airlines from charging a fee for carry-on baggage, calling it a “slap in the face to travelers.”

The New York Democrat is making a personal plea to the Treasury Department to rule that carry-on bags are a necessity for travel, which would make them exempt from a separate fee outside the ticket price.

“Airline passengers have always had the right to bring a carry-on bag without having to worry about getting nickeled and dimed by an airline company,” Schumer said. “This latest fee is a slap in the face to travelers.”

The fee, however, is legal. The first airline to try it, Spirit Airlines, announced last week it would charge up to $45 for a carry-on, but that it was also reducing the cost of most tickets by $40.

WASHINGTON GOP senators won”t rule out filibuster

Senate Republicans on Sunday declined to rule out a filibuster to block President Barack Obama”s next nominee for the Supreme Court, but they said it will only happen with an extremist pick.

“I”m never going to take it off the table,” said Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, appearing on ABC”s “This Week.”

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said any nominee with a “judges know best” philosophy will prompt a big fight with the GOP.

Obama was given the choice to fill a Supreme Court seat after moderate Justice John Paul Stevens, who will be 90 soon, announced last week he would retire.

The prospect of a political fight over the next High Court nominee would play out during the politically sensitive time before the mid-elections. With a nation angry at Washington over all manner of things, including its handling of the ongoing financial crisis, a divisive nominee from Obama or a nasty confirmation battle by Republicans could easily provide more ammunition to a disenchanted electorate.